Escaped the Night (31 page)

I
jolted awake
to find
that
Jayce’s
arms were no longer wrapped aro
und me. I
reached out for him
,
but
he wasn’t
there
.
I fumbled around
with
the nightstand trying to locate a light of some kind. After knocking
over who knows what, I realized there wasn’t one
. If Jayce were near,
he would have checked on me after the
noise
I’d just made. This startled me.

“Jayce,
where are you?” The worst thoughts sprang into my mind. What if the nightwalkers had come? What
if I was the only one left? I
felt so safe
with Jayce near me and now that
he was gone
,
I felt panicky and exposed.

A voice answered,
but didn’t belong to Jayce. “It’s alright
,
Shanntal. Jayce is on watch now. He’s okay. Go back to sleep. I’m keeping an eye on you.”

I watched
the
silhouette
mak
e its way to the corner and
si
t down.

“
Garrison
?”

“
The one and only
.
”

I sighed in relief.
‘Thanks for staying with me.”

“Glad to be of service.
You know, i
f you
ever
need to talk, I’m here too
.” His voiced squeaked
with the
offer.

It was a nice gesture. I usually talked with Kale
b
.
“Thanks
,
Garrison
. I
’m glad you’re here
. Sorry if I snore.”

“I’ve heard it before
.
Kind of s
ounds like a freight train.”
He chuckled.

I lay
back down, but a
s hard as I tri
ed
,
I couldn’t go back to sleep. I needed Jayce beside me. He was the only
one to
g
i
ve me that kind of comfort.

‘
I’m still with you
,
Shanntal. I’m just downstairs.
Kynthia and I are on watch.
G
o back to sleep. I’ll be back
beside
you soon.
’

‘
I
really
missed being connected to you
,
Jayce. I like how we don’t need to say things aloud. Just know
, I am here waiting for you, longing for you, b
urning for you
.
’’

‘
Come on time. Let
’
s get a move on!
’

‘
I really
did miss
you
. I don’t ever want to be apart again. I want to be with you always.
’

‘
Believe me
,
I underst
and. We’ll just have to keep Daray
away from you. He had his chance. I promise you
,
he won’t get another one like it, not while I’m around.’

‘
I love you
.
I can’t be
ar to be without you either. Lif
e i
s not worth living if you aren’
t by my side.’

‘I’m satisfied
you understand my point. It may mean a fight to the death.
I am prepared, I’m prepared to do all of i
t
just
so you know how much you mean to me.’

‘Oh, Jayce. I won’t let it come to something like that. We are all just getting a head of ourselves. I think we are making too much out of this. It will be oka
y. I‘ve got a feeling
.’

‘Get some sleep.’

‘Good night
. I’ll be here when you
r
watch is over.
I’m w
aiting for you to come back to me.’ I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythm of
Garrison
’s breathing. A few minutes later
,
I drifted back off to sleep.

I
awoke a few hours later with
Jayce back beside me.
I
roll
ed
myself over so I could look at him. He looked so carefree as he slept. I
leaned over and
kissed him on the lips without disturbing him.

I decided
I had
enough sleep and
def
initely
enough
nightmares
,
while
wondering
if any truth was hidden in them. Why was
I seeing these things? How did I think
this stuff up?
Not
want
ing
to
wake
Jayce, I laid
where I was and didn’t move. I
closed my eyes, remembering
how Gabriella ha
d saved me from the dungeon. Was
there
any possibility
some
th
ing like this
could
happen?

The Forest

~ Chapter Seven ~

I remained
snuggled
in
bed
as I waited patiently for Jayce
to wake
.
I felt so safe and secure
I’d
stay here
forever
if he let me.

He
open
ed
his eyes and smiled
. “I’d love
you to stay
here
forever
with me
.”
Leaning his head towards mine, he
kissed me good morning.

I didn’t want to get out of his
big fluffy bed. I wanted to
stay in it
with him
by my side
. I knew it was wishful thinking
, but
thought I’d put the suggestion out there anyway.
“Jayce,
I’ve got a perfect plan and it involves the two of us
hiding away
in here, away
from the rest of the world.
What do you say?” I batted my eyelashes, hoping he’d accept
my proposal.

“Tempting… very tempting.
” He
held me tightly
as he pondered the offer
.

I thought he was going to agree
, but
then he said,
“People need to know we are
all
alright. They especially need to know tha
t you are okay. I think you should
call an
d check in with your uncle
.
He’s
been
feeling beside himself because he
thinks he let you and your family down.”
His tone remained sweet
, but
sounded more like an order rather than a suggestion.

He was right. That was a
definite mood changer as the shock of r
eality
settled
in.
Surprisingly, I hadn’t really thought about Uncle Dane and Auntie Steph since I’d lef
t that night. I’d forgotten they didn’t know I
had
escaped from Daray.

“Oh my, you’re right.
They’ve got to be
worried sick.
”
I hopped
out of bed and
rummaged
through my purse
looking for my
cell phone
.
I dug around
before finding
it buried
deep in the
corner
.
I
pulled it out and
dialed home.

Auntie Steph answered on the second ring.

“Hi, Auntie Steph. It’s me
,
”
I
paused, feeling a bit nervous.
Was she going to be mad? I’d left two nights ago and no
t on the best of terms
.

“Shanntal. Oh, I’m so happy
it’s
you.” She surprised me by
sounding pleased
to hear from me
. “
Where are you
, h
oney
?”

Her to
ne took a load of pressure off
. What
was I
thinking? How
could I hurt
the people that meant the world to me
so easily
? Why did Daray have such a
hold over me?

“I’m fine,
”
I said. “I didn’t stay with Daray
and the
others. I thought it was better to leave.” A small attempt to leave
out the details of my
horrific
stay, in hopes she
woul
dn’t panic.

“Oh, you didn’t?” J
ust as
predicted, her voice
sounded
stressed
.

“
It’s okay.
I’m
at Jayce’s house now.
Layla,
Terran, Aiden, Makan and Meriel all live here too. I’m going to be staying with them for a little while,
just
until things cool off with Daray and the others.
Garrison
and Kaleb are
here too and they’re
staying close to me
. R
eally,
we’re
only
staying here
because there’s more room
f
or everyone
.”

“Oh,
so
t
hat’s where you are. Well,
I guess that
sounds
acceptable.
Yes,
I’m good
with
it
,
sweetheart,
just
as
long as I know you’re safe
and
the others
are
sticking
with you.”
I hear
d
her relief at
realizing
that
I wasn’t alone.

“Is
Uncle Dane
around
?’ I asked,
feeling
apprehensive again. They typically had the opposite reactions when it came to things.

“Sure he is, hang on a sec and I’ll get him
.” I
heard
her
call out for
him and a few seconds later
he was on the phone.

“Shanntal
,
I’m so glad to hear your voice
.
Are you okay?” his
cracking
voice
carried so much
concern
.

“I’m alright. I’m
so
rry. I should’ve listened
.”
I took a
moment
before
explaining the
situation.
“I’m with Jayce and
all
the others.
I wanted you to know
I’m okay
, but
I’ll be staying
here
with them
for a while
. Just
until things cool off a little more with Daray and the nightwalk
ers. There’s just more room
here
for everyone, so it seems like the best idea
right now
.”

“You aren’t coming home?” He
sounded
hurt.

“
Just for a while, it
will be safer
. Uncle Dane,
please I need you to understand;
I didn’t leave
the nightwalkers,
no,
what I mean
is, D
aray
’s
going to be
mad
when
he finds out
I’m no longer there. I kind of made my getaway while he was out.” I
cringed
,
waiting
for his response
.

“He doesn’t know
you left?”

“He’ll find out
soon
enough
or
who knows,
maybe
he
already did
. It wasn’t
a pleasant reunion
.
I found out
that
h
e kee
ps prisoners in the house and
he
l
ocked me in a room
alone when I said I wouldn’t marry him.” I hadn’t wanted to
share
all
these details, but
needed him to
completely
understand
why I left in the manner
I did.

“He did what?” Uncle Dane yelled
.

“Uncle Dane
, please
,
c
alm down. I’m fine. I’ve got
everyone
here and
they
’re
willing to protect me
and keep him away
. We’
re
prepared
should Daray or any other nightwal
ker try
to approach
me.
Layla had three more of
her kind join us last night. We’re
ready
. Please don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

He wasn’t falling for it. I
nstead he started
hollering crazy things in
to
the phone. I wasn’t sure what to say to
make him calm down. I
stood
holding the phone away from my ear so I didn’t go deaf from his yelling.

Jayce grabbed the phone out
of my hand. “Dane… yeah Dane.
Hey, it’s Jayce.”

I
heard
the yelling stop on the other end of my cell.

Jayce spoke in a calm
rational voice. “I p
romise
you,
she’s going to be fine.
Trust
me when I tell you
,
she’
s safe
now
.”

M
aybe it would be
better
if I
just
went home.
Jayce
shot me a look and
shook his head
. I hadn’t
realized he was connected
. I thought he was
busy,
listening
attentively
while
waiting
patiently for another chance to speak
.

“I understand
. Yes…
I
know
…
I understand
exactly
what you mean
…
t
rust me
,
I will
…
y
es,
I promise
you
…
o
kay then, it’s settled.”

I was dying to know what was being said. From the look on his face, it felt like I was going home.
Well, at least he’d
tried.

Giving me a flash
of his perfect smile, he said,
“Oh and Dane,
I want
y
ou and your wife
to know, you’
re
welcome to
visit
her
anytime.
I mean it;
you are
always
more than welcome
.”

Jayce
had
d
efused the situation. He was good
at
calmin
g me down, so
I shouldn’t be
surprised when he
could do the same to others.
“Sure
thing
, it was n
ice talking with you also
.
We’ll s
ee you sho
rtly.” He handed the phone back, but not before providing a
silly
victory dance
showing
how impress
ed he was by
his soothing techniques.

“Hi.
”

“
H
ello again.
I tend to overreact when it comes to yo
u. I just can’t help myself. I really am
sorry
,
Shanntal,” said Uncle Dane.

“I’m sorry too.
Honestly though, I
think
flying off the handle
tends to
be a trait in the family. A ri
t
e
of passage
,
so to speak.
Guess
we should’ve been born with wings to help us fly better.
” We both laughed at my poor attempt at humor. Jayce
successfully managed to complete
ly
change
my uncle’s
state of mind. He was back to
his loving self
and
no longer the
raging lunatic.

“So,
are
you
guys
coming
over
?” I asked
Uncle Dane,
e
xcited
by
the thought of seein
g my family. I missed them.
It felt strange, but
the
time
I spent
away over
the
past
few days seemed longer
than a couple days
, almost
like weeks.

“We
’ll be over late
r
this afternoon. I should
probably
let you go so we can
start
get
ting
ready
to leave
. I love you kiddo. I’m glad
you’re in s
afe hands.” He hung up
.

I walked over to Jayce
and wrapped my arms around him. I kissed his left cheek
. “Thank you
,
Jayce.”
Then, I kissed his right cheek. “Thank you, for making
my life so wonderful.” Lastly, before I
planted a
kiss
on his lips
, I said
,
“T
hank you
, for being
perfect for
me.”

Sweetly, he returned
his
kisses
in the sa
me manner. ”Thank you
, Shanntal,
” h
e said leaving
a kiss
on my cheek. “
Thank you,
for making me so happy,
” h
e said as his kissed the other one. “
Thank you
…
for simply being you.”

A knock sounded at the bedroom door
,
interrupting us
before we got too carried away. I giggled,
remembering back to my earlier proposal.
“Guess the plan of
hid
ing
out
was
pretty
far
fetche
d.” I rolled my eyes mockingly, unwrapping
my arms from around his neck.